The office of the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) has exposed a new syndicate targeting vehicles in parking areas and those left on busy highways especially in Nairobi.
In a detailed expose, DCI has disclosed that the syndicate operates in a well choreographed manner targeting cars in parking lots reportedly working with some officials drawn from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
In a well calculated move, the individuals identify a car on the roadside or that at a parking lot before contacting their partners at NTSA.
The undisclosed NTSA officials then help them change the details of the targetted car including its registration. After infiltrating the system, they reportedly go ahead to use the logbooks of the car to secure huge loans from financial institutions in the country.
In most cases, car owners ended up realising later that their logbooks were used to secure bank loans exposing them to the hammer of auctioneers.
DCI further detailed that in one of the cases, a physically challenged woman received a posh car as a gift from her daughter, but she later realised that her car was used by the said syndicate to acquire a loan valued at Ksh1.5 million.
In another case, an unsuspecting member of the public lost Ksh1.4 million after he realised that his car’s logbook was used to acquire loans from different financial institutions.
“The fraudsters drive top of the range vehicles, posing as legitimate businessmen in the thriving property, land and logistics sector while all they do is identify a vehicle on the road or at a parking slot before contacting their partners in crime at the NTSA and have the vehicles registered in their names,” part of the statement released by DCI read.
“They then rush to micro finance institutions and obtain credit leaving the owners at the mercy of ruthless auctioneers.”
The complexity of the web of scammers, has compelled DCI to employ the services of the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau to hunt down three more suspects who are believed to be part of the gang.
One of the suspects was arraigned at Makadara Law Courts on Tuesday, February 15 and charged with forgery among other charges.